Mini Black & White Cookies, Gluten Free

As a small child, there was no better way to spend Saturday morning than to go to the market with my mom followed by a trip to the infamous Snowflake Bakery. There we would finish up the shopping with purchasing a freshly baked coffee cake and a dark rye bread, still slightly warm.

My mom let me pick out my favorite cookie and I would manage to eat it all on the way home. Half Moons were huge cookies, almost five inches across and slathered with both chocolate and vanilla glaze. These giant cake-like cookies were better known everywhere else as Black & Whites.

Years later, long after the bakery was gone and I’d moved to the west coast where Black & White Cookies are virtually nonexistent, I learned how to bake them at home for my children. Now I make them gluten-free in a mini version for my grandsons.

This kid-sized version of the recipe is both gluten-free and dairy-free.

Don’t save them for special occasions – make today a mini Black & White Cookie day at your house.

In a stand mixer bowl, weigh out the flours and sugar, and add the baking powder and salt. Mix on low for about 15 seconds to incorporate the flours.

Add the shortening and on medium low, mix until it resembles coarse sand.

Add the egg and mix again for about 15 seconds.

Add the Almond Milk and mix again for a few seconds.

That’s it. Using a spatula, scrape the sides and cover the bowl and let it rest for about 20 minutes. GF mixtures benefit from a short rest before baking.

Scoop by tablespoons (I use a small ice cream scoop) onto the prepared baking sheet taking care to make sure the scooped dough stays round. Using a spoon or a small offset spatula, flatten the dough using a circular motion to keep the shape as round as possible.

Bake about 9 minutes and rotate the pan. Bake about 6 minutes more or until the bottoms are slightly golden.

Cool completely.

Glaze Directions

In two separate small bowls sift about ½ cup of organic powdered sugar into each. In one bowl add a scant tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa, sifted to remove lumps. Whisk to incorporate.

Add 2-3 teaspoons of hot water to each bowl stirring until the mixture looks like a thick glaze. Add a splash of vanilla to each bowl and stir. Add a drop of organic corn syrup to each bowl and stir.

If the mixture is too thick, add drops of hot water. If it is too thin, add tiny amounts of powdered sugar (sifted – you don’t want lumps). The ideal glaze will be on its way to being thick but still drippy.

Apply the glaze on the flat side or the bottom.

Using a small offset spatula or a very small spoon spread the vanilla glaze on half of each cookie. Let them dry a bit on the cooling rack. By the time you finish with the vanilla, the first cookies you glazed should be hardening. Do the same with the chocolate side.

Hint: Don’t glaze the cookies over the rack where they are drying – or over the bowls. I’ve dripped chocolate on vanilla in both circumstances. Now I slather on the glaze over a small plate which catches the drips.